Menchise

YAY!

*sigh* I miss Amiga. There's no substitute for the real thing. A good emulator would help relieve the nostalgia though. A rom of Gunship would help too.

quote: Aside: Menchise, you don't have to worry about what happens if nVidia goes down because their interface is all through OpenGL and DirectX, which are standards controlled by other parties, unlike Glide which was proprietary to 3dFX. Worry instead about someone like Microsoft, who controls DirectX lock, stock and barrel, going under That's a relief. I'm still annoyed by the way they've been marketed though (can't make everyone happy ).

Heh. I never finished Independence War. Couldn't get past the mission where you have to track a distress signal (the enemy ships kept shooting me down). Most of the missions are difficult, to say the least. Overall, the game is very good, but some of it (notably the main menu and mission screens) was half-baked. I'm thinking about re-installing it, but if I do, I'll have to play it in software mode (the accelerated mode only supports 3dfx Voodoo cards). Oh well, at least it has a software mode, unlike most recent games. [entering off-topic rant mode] I hate the way 3D cards have been marketed in computer gaming. What happens if NVidia goes the way of 3dfx and another chipset architecture starts dominating the market? All of the games that we play today and in the next few months (including BCM) could become completely unusable in a few years, unless you don't upgrade, but then you'd have to stop playing new games. It's ridiculous. [exiting off-topic rant mode]

SC, how many volumes is the wishlist now?

quote: Anyone know of any good political strategy games? Older is fine, especially if it's on an abandoned ware site. I didn't know there were any 'new' political sims. I thought CyberJudas was the last. Anyway, here are some political sims available @ Underdogs: Hidden Agenda (1988). You play the Presidente of a fictional Central American nation. The scenario is a bit short, but it's well designed, very realistic, and highly replayable. The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter (1990). From Chris Crawford (the creator of Balance of Power), you play the leader of a fictional country on a randomly generated continent. Highly recommended. Read the manual first. Shadow President (1992). You play the President of the United States. You can choose from a variety of scenarios or a more open ended world map. Fancy graphics and sound for a political sim. Not bad overall. CyberJudas was the sequel to this game. [ 08-12-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

Hehe. I just installed Linux-Mandrake 8.0 on Saturday. It has a firewall called 'tiny' which disappointed me. I told it to block telnet/ssh connections, then I ran ssh and connected to a nearby server with no problems. Seems like it's useless against Trojans if it can't block internal extrusion. Does anyone know of a good two-way firewall in Linux? It's a pity that ZoneAlarm is only for Windows.

I don't understand why so many people dislike Jar Jar Binks. I'll admit that it's not as likeable as other Star Wars characters, but I see little reason to dislike it. In any case, Jar Jar probably won't appear in Episode 2 at all.

Update: Who Is Enigma? While exploring the Commanders' Village (it's a huge place) I discovered two structures built by an unknown tourist on the 5th of August. They were built inside two Romulan Warbird objects; one of them is hovering next to Jaguar's ship near the Delta Wing Complex and the other one is hovering outside the village wall nearby. One of the ships was named "Home of Enigma". To say the least, I am curious. Who is Enigma? Is he/she a BC player or a real tourist exploring the Village? Hmm...

Update: New Village Directory Additions and Other Stuff. The Directory has been updated with three new additions, all of them built by Jerold Keenan: ISS Fleet Mars Regional Training and Command Facility, Commander's Village Hall, and Keenan's new quarters. Another change to the Directory has been the removal of the Orion Fleet Offices from the listing. The building will remain off the Directory until the structure actually contains some offices. Finally, my office now has some decent walls, floors, and a roof, not to mention a nice door. Have fun!

quote: I like the bridge chatter too, the only minor qualm I have about that is there is a part that you can clearly make out where a woman says "More power!". Not very loud, but loud enough to register, and its the only indication that its a repeated recording. It kinda takes away from the immersion feeling and I can't help wondering if that insatiable woman will ever have enough power! Man, you'd think she was your wife. "For the love of pete, I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE POWER WOMAN!!" I'd like the chatter back but it would be merciful if you could clip that part out. Hehe. I noticed that too. I found it annoying after a while (good thing SC turned down the volume in BCM), but that wasn't the only indication of a headache-inducing loop. Almost as annoying as the repeated requests for power was the repeated sound of someone saying "Aye." I've never liked the voice acting in the BC games. In fact, some of it almost makes me laugh; the Tactical Officer sounds like Lisa Simpson with a blocked nose, and the Chief Engineer sounds like a cross between a robot and William Shatner: "Main Computer, IS damaged." My 300th post. Yay! [ 08-06-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

ZoneAlarm! Get it! It doesn't matter how much time you spend online, you need a firewall.

Yesterday, I got approximately 20 alerts per hour! Usually, I get less than that in a day, and I have noticed slight dips in the transfer rate, but nothing significant.

Indeed. Freelancer is definitely not vaporware. I'm not so sure about Loose Cannon though (I can't find ANY info about it).

Jerold, read the latest update in the Active Worlds thread (don't worry, it's a happy one this time).

Update: New Village Directory Policy Change. When I rebuilt my office and installed the application signs for the Directory, I included a notice that only registered buildings (i.e. built by citizens) would be included. This was done to reduce the risk of tourist structures being deleted by malicious visitors (we've had at least one of those in the past). After seeing the new ISS Headquarters (the first tourist structure to be built after the server cleanup), I realized that there were some tourists out there who were willing to build new and outstanding structures knowing that they may disappear within a month or even a week (tourists structures are deleted eventually). I have decided that as long as those buildings last, I'm going to support them. The New Village Directory is now taking applications from tourists again. ISS HQ will be listed in the next update.

I miss the station. I miss all of the tourist structures. *sigh* Exploring each building was fun.

quote: You never know with the SC, he may have thrown in a few extra races, planets, moons, etc. who knows. Check those flux fields, wormholes etc, you never know what surprises the SC has thrown in there. Hmm...I wonder what else is out there. Arianne? Galactica? The Ultimate Question to 42?

The bridge chatter IS in the demos. It's difficult to notice with the background music playing, but I can still hear the bridge chatter.

Since no-one has provided me with any suggestions regarding new methods of application for the New Village Directory, I have some good news for New Village builders: My office, application signs and all, is returning to the Village (YAY! ). The signs and basic structure are already in place, and decorations will be coming soon, including a self-portrait I made in Illustrator. Special thanks to Riga for making it possible. [ 08-03-2001: Message edited by: Menchise ]

Star Wars. 'nuff said.

Hehe. It's a pity there are no demos of The Sims or Black & White, but the reviewers seem to give The Sims their unanimous high praise (it won several Game of the Year awards), while Black & White is loved by some (GameSpot, 9.3/10), liked by some (Avault, 4/5) and moderately respected by some (CGO, 3/5), not to mention disliked by others (every player review in Mobygames). There seems to be a high regard for B&W's achievements (advanced creature AI, visuals changing relative to good/evil status), even among those who dislike the game, but there is a lot of debate over whether these achievements translated into a good game (reminds me of the mixed response that Blade Runner received). Anyway, I'm leaning towards The Sims. If I ever feel the itch for a "god sim", I can always get Populous somewhere.

OK. I think now is the time to ask this question. Which game should I get? Black & White or The Sims (I don't think I'll be getting both)?

Denied. The Secret Base doesn't exist anymore.

LOL! Aramike has been working too hard. Greetings, Hellbinder. Welcome aboard.